Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-01-14
FARM and HOUSEHOLD.
BAD FLAVORS IN MILK.
TAmerican Dairyman.J

American DairymSh'J
The sources of bad hsvors in
milk are more potent in winter
than at other times. They occur
in the feed, in musty fodder, IN
weeds cured with the hay, IN the
water, and in the lack of it. These
are really miner troubles, but with
plenty of pure water many i'll
flavors are so to speak, washed out,
so that the poor fodder does not
do so much harm.
To secure an abundance of milk
the stables must be warm. Cows
crowded in the stables keep one
another warm, but the air often
becomes foul, and close stables and
bad air have bad effect upon the
cows; though their general health
may apparently not be affected,
vet the milk have less of good
flavor if not a positive faint. The
milk, however, gets a faint at the
time it is drawn, especially if milk.
ed into open pals, as is usually
done.
If the COWS are we'll cleaned,
their udders thoroughly cleaned
and their sides we'll brushed, the
evil is greatly reduced. If, how
ever, they are carelessly and I'M
tidily MIXED, the faint, in part
absorbed from the air, is generally
added to. The cows may have
lain in their own filth the mixer
hastily brushes off the teat with
one hand, holding his pail, very
likely half full Of milk, behind him
with the other. He draws a little
milk into his hand and mOistens
the filthy teats, and then goes on
with his milking. The milk foams
in the pail, and before the milking
is over, the foam is thickly pep
pered with particles of dust and
dry dung, a good deal of which
with every squirt is buried in the
milk. He keeps his hands moist
with milk, and the black drops
from them show like ink drops up
on the white froth.
Then the milk is strained, prob.
ably through the single coarse wire
gauze stralner in the nozzle of the
pail. Where is the sweet butter
to come from 7 The bottoms OF the
pans or coolers will show dark
specks by the spoonful. Even the
bottoms OF the pitchers in which
the skim.milk is placed upon tue
table will show filth enough to turn
a delicate stomach, and the good
people actually wonder where the
cowy taste can come from. In
fact, there are those who associate
this cowy taste with milk to that
degree that they get fond Of II
and miss it in pure milk, in blissful
ignorance that the flavor they miss
is that of dissolved COW manure
If the skim.milk takes up and is
pervaded by the flavor, what about
the cream? This, like most other
oils, in fact, prominently among
oils, absOrbs all taints and odors'
Where, then, we ask, is well.havor-
ed butter to come from I Certainly
not out of such milk. These facts
ara not overdrawn. Thank PrOvi-
dence and a habit of cleanliness
among some farmer folks, there is
winter milk free from these taints
largely if not wholly free. Still
there is carelessness enough to
make the winter butter OF common
farmers the country through, dread
fully poor stuff. 1t is not all spollt
by the carelessness of the country
storekeeper who got such a show
| ing up at Chicago. There is an old
saving that "it is hard TO spoil a
bad egg" There is butter which
even proximity to Goldfish and ba-
con, and kerosene to boot, cannot
spoil.
The picture we have drawn of
dirty mixers is absolutely true to
life. We have seen it, and more,
have MIXED in the same stable
Dirt in the bottoms OF pans and
coolers ought to make dairy folks
blush. They argue that it cannot
be helped. Last week only we
saw it in the bottom OF a pitcher
of milk on our own table. The
mixer was discharged. We have
done our own milking since, aud
we will challenge anybody to find